Halcyonidae

Although divided by naturalists into several different types (Sibley-Monroe actually puts them into three separate families, the Alcedinidae, the Halcyonidae, and the Cerylidae), in popular perceptions the three types of kingfisher traditionally belong together. Distinctions among names are not as clear cut as the official usage suggests.

Chinese: The Chinese name for the halcyon kingfishers is 翡翠 fěicuì (sometimes 翡翠鸟 fěicuì-niǎo). According to one of China's earliest dictionaries, the Shuowen jiezi from the Han dynasty (206 BC - AD 220), the term 翡翠 fěicùi is a combination of two words:

翡 fěi = 赤羽雀 chì-yǔ què ('red-winged sparrow/finch'), a type of red-winged bird.
翠 cuì = 青羽雀 qīng-yǔ què (green/blue-winged sparrow/finch') a type of blue or green-winged bird.

Due to its identification with the birds' beautiful plumage, the word 翡翠 fěicuì was later extended to mean 'jadeite', the favourite precious stone of the Chinese, which comes in red and green colours. In fact, Chinese speakers generally identify 翡翠 fěicùi with the precious stone rather than the bird. The general name for kingfishers in popular usage is now 翠鸟 cuì-niǎo (see Alcedinid kingfishers).

Some other names exist for the halcyon kingfishers, including 翠雀儿 cuì-qiǎor ('cui sparrow') and 赤羽雀 chì-yǔ què (literally 'red-winged sparrow').

Japanese: Naturalists call the halcyon kingfishers ショウビン shōbin. This is written with the characters 翡翠, the same characters as the Chinese name. (翡翠 is also used to write the names of the alcedin kingfishers in Japanese). Originally, ショウビン shōbin was just an alternative name for the カワセミ kawa-semi, the general word for 'kingfisher'. It is a much less familiar name for the layman than kawa-semi.

Vietnamese: The name applied to the halcyon kingfishers is the general Vietnamese name for kingfisher, which is Sả, also known as:

The spellings Xả and Chả are sometimes used in place of Sả and Trả respectively. A number of these names are regional (e.g., Chim sa sả is used in Central and Southern Vietnam).

The distribution of the Halcyonidae in East Asia can be found at Tzung-Su Ding's Distribution of CORACIIFORMES in East Asia.

The Checklist on the Classification and Distribution of the Birds of the World (Chief Editor Zheng Guangmei) uses the name 翠鸟 cùi-niǎo for Lacedo pulchella. Normally, 翠鸟 cùi-niǎo is used for the Alcedinae.